Who:
Senators Chuck Grassley, Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Jim Jeffords (R-Vt.)U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala United Way President Betty Beene Mr. Jerry Starr of the Jewish Family Service Agency of Central New Jersey
What:
News conference on massive Social Services Block Grant funding cuts/release of United Way's "Stories of the Social Services Block Grant" survey
When:
Wednesday, June 21, 2000, at 10:30 a.m.
Where:
EF-100 in the U.S. Capitol (First floor, Senate side, across from the gift shop)
Description:
As the Senate nears debate on a Labor/Health and Human Services appropriations bill that cuts more than $1 billion in social services funding, Senators Chuck Grassley, Bob Graham and Jim Jeffords, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, and United Way President Betty Beene will hold a news conference to urge the restoration of that funding.
Created in 1981 by a Democratic Congress and a Republican President, the Social Services Block Grant helps states pay for vital programs such as Meals on Wheels, protective services, adoption, and both child and adult day care. Though Congress promised states a steady stream of this funding, the Fiscal Year 2001 Labor/Health and Human Services appropriations bill breaks that promise by more than $1 billion.